16 Lots War Horse Gets A New Name – Because They Got A Cease And Desist

In a story that I fear we will be hearing more and more of in the future, Mason’s 16 Lots Brewing Company has been forced into having to rename one of their flagship beers, called War Horse. The brewery took to social media to inform their fans of the changes, stating that after receiving a cease and desist letter, they went back to the drawing board to come up with a new identity for the beer.

The New Beer

The beer formally known as War Horse is now known as Pike Street. I’m not sure if you’re up to date on all your Mason historical trivia, but the original name for Reading Rd (which is where the brewery is located) was PIke Street. The road connected the area of Mason that the brewery is currently located to the originals 16 lots that made up the city.

If the renaming bothers you, don’t worry too much, there is a little bit of good in the whole saga to ease the pain. While working on the renaming of the beer, the brewery took the opportunity to refine the recipe just a tad as well. It’s fruity, bright and still super drinkable.

Worry not.

Who Sent The Cease And Desist?

The big question that always pops up with something like this happens in town, is “who sent the letter”? The brewery didn’t mention who it was when they released the info, but I can make an educated guess just based on what I know.

There is a brewery up in New York that just so happens to be called War Horse Brewing company, and holds the trademark on the War Horse name. The brewery is a 15bbl system, and they’ve been brewing on site since mid 2016 (Though… they first got this trademark all the way back in 2009).

The brewery is owned by the Three Brothers Winery and Estates, which if you’re a forward thinking drinker, you’ll love some of the products they put out under their label:

69 Ways to Have Fun

Bone Spirit (aka Well Hung)

Poor Limp Richards

Skirt Lifter

I’m making an assumption here about them being the one that sent the notice to 16 Lots – and if they are, I’m not going to rag on them for doing so, either. A trademark is a trademark, and they’ve gotta defend it. At the end of the day, 16 Lots is still new, and I cant help but think that drinkers wont notice too much as a beer changes names at this stage in the game.